Willow Springs Schoolhouse Flea Market

Willow Springs Restoration Fundraiser- a community sale & flea market to support restoration of the school building.

From the beginning, the school house and out buildings were installed and maintained by members of the local community. When the school closed in June 1955, the school house and grounds became a community center and continues to be maintained by the Willow Springs Community Club and was used for local functions. It has always been a local gathering place for people of all ages and is equipped for multiple uses.

Stop by to and find favorite treasure or a delightful surprise you didn't know you had to have! Help us maintain our historic gathering place.

Motorcar Rail Ride

Motorcar Rail Rides take you along the historic Amador Central Railroad, a six-mile round trip which takes about an hour.
Ride on a motorcar from Ione to Sunny Brook and back through the beautiful Amador County hills.

First ride leaves at 10:00 am and last ride leaves at 2:30 pm.

First come first served, no advance tickets will be sold.

Motorcar rides are $10.00 round trip. NO open toed shoes or sandals, and riders must be a minimum of 5 years old.

If you are a motorcar operator\owner and are NARCOA licensed and insured and would like to participate in giving rides, contact name is below.

Amador Farmers Market – Sutter Creek

Visit the Sutter Creek Farmers Market for fresh local produce, local crafts, live music, food and fun.

SPECIAL EVENT SATURDAY 8/26/17! Put your tomatoes to the ultimate test! UCCE Master Gardeners of Amador County are sponsoring a tomato judging and tasting contest. Bring at least one washed tomato of each variety (at least five cherry tomatoes) between 8:30 -9:30 AM. Judges begin their tasting at 10:00 and announce their favorites by 11:30 AM. Prizes given for the biggest and for best tasting red, non-red and cherry tomatoes. Our fantastic judges this year include Steve Muni of Hometown radio, Darius Somary, consultant, and Scott Oneto, Amador County Farm Advisor and Farmer.

Knight Foundry Open House

The Knight Foundry, set in the heart of Sutter Creek, is America’s last water-powered foundry and machine shop. Established in 1873 by Samuel Knight, this extraordinary facility includes the unique historic equipment and machinery, still in place in its original context, just as it was during its gold rush-era heyday.

Knight Foundry never significantly modernized; the original machinery is still powered by patented Knight Water Motors via a system of line shafts and belt drives. In addition to a full complement of tools and machinery, no other site preserves an unbroken line of nearly extinct foundry skills down to the present. These skills associated with the foundry craft are another unique element of the site’s historic fabric.Samuel N. Knight (1838-1913) and the other skilled artisans who worked there were a major, albeit unsung, source of technological invention, innovation and engineering for early California industry.

Knight Foundry is nationally recognized as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark and a California Registered Historical Landmark. The Foundry is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s eleven most endangered historic places.

Kennedy Mine Tours

During the Kennedy Gold Mine surface tour, visitors see the mine office building where gold flakes were melted into large bricks to ship by Wells Fargo stage to San Francisco. This is also where ore samples were processed to see if a particular underground area was worthy of further investigation. See the stamp and gold recovery mill, tailing wheels, a steam boiler and the huge steel head frame whose pulleys guided the miners into the bowels of the earth. You will also see the building [now a museum] where the men changed into their mining garb before dropping nearly a mile underground to work. View a historic video of the men working circa 1914, and much more. Visit the Kennedy Gold Mine and gain new insight into the complications and hardships of the miner's way of life.

FREE Admission. Guided tours are: $10.00 for ages 13 to adult, $6.00 for youngsters 6 through 12, and free to those under 6.

Group Guided tours are available, by reservation, all year. Guided Tours are recommended for an interesting, in-depth, and educational tour of the grounds [about 1.5 hours]. You may, if you wish, purchase a self-guided tour book in our gift shop and wander on your own. Some prefer to bring a picnic lunch and just soak in the ambiance of this historic spot.

Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival

The Annual Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is a loaded-with-fun weekend! Sutter Creek will be jumping with sparkling solo sets, the festival extravaganza concerts, mixed sets featuring the talents of several festival artists, plus all the hilarity and good music that spills into the After Hours sessions.

Preston Castle Historical Tours

The majestic Preston Castle will be open for guided historical tours. You will be guided by a trained docent through the first floor, second floor and basement and learn about the history of the Preston School of Industry. No reservations are necessary. The first tour goes out at 10:00 AM and depending on demand tours depart every 15-30 minutes.

The strikingly beautiful Romanesque style Preston Castle, on a hill in Ione, was actually the administration building for the Preston School of Industry, the first major attempt in California at rehabilitating, instead of just imprisoning, young offenders. Opened in 1894, the Preston School of Industry became a leader in the juvenile prison reform movement by giving convicted boys a real chance at life by educating them not only in academics, but in all of the useful trades of the time. Closed in 1960, when the Preston Youth Authority moved into a new administration building down the hill, the Preston Castle was left to deteriorate due to weather, vandalism, and general neglect. It now serves as a vacant, but vitally important landmark for Ione, Amador County, and the Mother lode. It is a California State Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We also offer self-guided tours on May 13th and the June 13th, July 11, and August 8 and December 9. These allow you to go through the Castle at your own pace, with information provided by posted descriptions. Docents will be available along the way to answer questions.

Also available is a Virtual Tour for our mobility restricted guests which will take place on the accessible ground floor (basement) of the Castle.

Plan a visit to Ione and enjoy a tour of the Castle, including a visit to the Farm Museum.

Sippin on Steiner!

Summer is under way on Steiner Road and it is time to start Sippin’ On Steiner! We invite you to indulge in a cornucopia of seasonal delights for an exclusive event among the stunning views, vines and wines. Each of the 9 wineries will be offering a diverse selection of wine country experiences ranging from pairings, library releases, art and music. Discover the finesse, elegance and diversity of the Steiner Road wineries, Amador County’s first wine trail.

Farms of Amador Tour and Dinner

The Amador County Farmers Market and the Farms of Amador are holding their annual Farm Tour and dinner August 12th 2017. Each year this tour has different farms to tour in the county. This year the tour , which begins at 12 PM, is in the Jackson Valley / Ione area. Featured farms are: the Westhaven Ranch , Upcountry Farms and the Pope Taylor Ranch where the dinner will be held. The dinner will be catered by Lucy’s Spice Box and will be served at 5:30 PM. Drinks are served at the no host bar at 4:30 PM. Tickets are $75 per person and $65 per person for Farms of Amador Members. Tickets can be purchased at all of the Amador Farmers Markets .Purchase your tickets soon as they are sold out each year.

The Pope-Taylor farm is a beef cattle farm, with 525 acres of pasture land. The West haven Farm is also a beef cattle farm and the Upcountry Farms is an organic vegetable and flower Farm . These farms have fabulous foothill scenery. They will be sharing information about their methods of farming. Amador County has so much to offer in its agriculture and it’s beauty .Don’t miss this opportunity to see Amador County at its finest.

There will be live music provided by Claudia and friends as well as an auction and Raffle at the dinner. Farms and Amador and the Amador County farmers Market Assn. are looking forward to seeing you there. Contact us at: AmadorCountyFarmersMarket.com

Tickets are $75 per person and $65 per person for Farms of Amador Members. Tickets can be purchased at all of the Amador Farmers Markets .Purchase your tickets soon as they are sold out each year. Or online at Amadorfarmersmarket tickets

Dancin’ in the Street

Saturday nights this summer in Amador City will be the place to get your groove on. We’ll have some fantastic bands to get you movin’, as well as delicious food and drink. Come early to check out the shops and stake out your seat on a hay bale. This will be a great summer to dance in the street. See you there!

Our 2017 summer schedule is jam packed with rockin' bands and all the festivities you need to get those feet a movin’ and remember the good times all year long.

The Crucible

The Crucible, directed by Susan McCandless. Salem, Massachusetts, 1692: When the girls of this small, devout town, under the malign spell of their ringleader Abigail Williams, accuse countless decent people of witchcraft, fear, anger and injustice rip apart the village. Only gradually does it become clear that Abigail has her own motives for revenge. Arthur Miller’s explosive account of the famous Salem witch trials caused a sensation with its parallels to the Communist scares of the 1950s, and remains one of his most enduring classics. It has the intensity of a thriller, but is also a cautionary tale of extremism that can lead to dangerous mass hysteria.

Main Street Theatre Works is donating 50% of the net proceeds from their September 1st performance of The Crucible to the Kennedy Mine Foundation (KMF), to help with repairs from the fire on their property August 14th.

Along with each ticket, you'll get a voucher good at the amphitheatre for a bottle of water or cup of coffee/tea, and you can use one of our chairs instead of bringing your own. The fundraisers include the performance, a dessert bar and coffee/tea.

Amphitheatre doors open at 6:30 pm for picnic dining or to reserve your spot.

For over 40 years Volcano Theatre Company has brought entertaining plays to the public. They are a community theatre located in Volcano, California, producing 5 shows per year.

Their amphitheatre hosts two summer plays each year, where thousands of people see shows while enjoying a picnic under the stars. The Cobblestone Theatre, their indoor venue, is the smallest fixed seat theatre in California.